Emirates Park Zoo one of the most prominent patrons of the cheetah conservation movement in the UAE commemorated World Wildlife Day 2018, in accordance to its official theme- Big Cats: Predators under threat.

More than 2,000 adults and children gathered at the zoo to participate in themed World Wildlife Day activities. Zoo instructors held awareness sessions which combined entertainment and education, that shed light on the dire necessity for conservation of cheetahs, lions and leopards. The little ones also engaged in interactive painting activities and wrote in messages about conservation of these majestic species.

The zoo operations manager of Emirates Park Zoo, Dr. Waleed Sha’aban said, “The World Wildlife Day celebrations aimed to raise public awareness and strives towards the restoration and improvement of Big Cats”. Celebrating the occasion at a gathering at Emirates Park Zoo, he stressed the need for civil behaviour towards the animals adding that preserving wildlife has become a crucial need of recent times.

“Emirates Park Zoo is dedicated to protecting wildlife however without public support the desired results cannot be achieved. Wildlife is the beauty of nature which is why we need to practise our humanistic and religious responsibility by protecting endangered species and abstaining from illegal hunting,” he concluded.

As part of the festivities, the zoo held a social media contest across three days. Each day, five winners were announced, out of which all 15 persons were gifted free entrance tickets.